Hollywood luminaries such as George Lucas and Steven Spielberg honored DreamWorks CEO and Director Jeffrey Katzenberg this past Wednesday during a USC dedication of the new Italianate Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Center for Animation.

"But it was longterm friends Spielberg and Lucas who were called upon to introduce Katzenberg. Both men praised Katzenberg's philanthropy and support for up-and-coming talents within the movie industry.

Spielberg said it was fitting that Katzenberg would choose to help finance a building on USC's campus, because "Jeffrey is one of the greatest mentors to all of the creative people that I know in this world."

Lucas added that Katzenberg and his decades of leadership atop DreamWorks and Disney, "gives [students] something to aspire to be when they finally get out of here."

The new Center for Animation will no doubt provide a fantastic learning environment for those looking to work in computer, stop-motion, and 3-D animation. Click here for the full read.